


tikki the bug

by sammthebitch



Series: irl kwamis [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Bug!Tikki, F/M, cat!Plagg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammthebitch/pseuds/sammthebitch
Summary: sometimes she feels alone. sometimes she just wants company in this big old house. sometimes she feels as if the whole world's weight lies on her shoulders even though she's only a small-town baker's daughter.sometimes...she lets the bed bugs bite.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Series: irl kwamis [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877617
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	tikki the bug

**Author's Note:**

> grading in france is done on a number scale: 1-10 is the lowest, 10-20 is considered a pass. 20 signifies perfection, 16 signifies excellence. anything below 10 isn't specified but could be classified as barely passing (7-9), or failing (1-6).

_The sky was snow white. The roads were pale white. The buildings were blood red, the only splash of color._

_She stood on her balcony, her mind daydreaming and her body relaxing. Her fingers had begun knitting three hours ago, but now they lay slack against her lap as her yarn lay forgotten beside her. She didn't know what came over her; her creator's block was never this bad. Her stump usually lasted a few short minutes (she normally had more trouble thinking of something than actually doing it) and she usually got to work within the hour._

_She'd started this project four days ago. Her dream companion came to mind; all red hair and blue eyes, five feet of pure fire. It wasn't a crush (she didn't swing that way) but she might as well call the mysterious woman her best friend; she'd confided in her so many secrets that even her parents didn't know. Why she felt this way, she would never know, but she came to the realization that maybe she needed someone like this in her real life, so maybe she was dreaming it up in the meantime. It made sense, and her life was all about sense._

_She'd gotten to talking to the red-haired woman about her latest stump, wondering why it wasn't going anywhere and why she never seemed to be able to think as creatively as before. As always, the woman never gave her a straight answer. Just "try and push through. Sometimes the worst of it is because you don't believe in yourself. You should think of ways to become more confident." or something along those lines. It wasn't therapy, per se, just a confidant for a young girl in lycée with huge dreams._

_The dreams never lasted long. Just enough to get a thought going in the young girl's mind and enough for her to start thinking. Maybe she should try something new; maybe she should rearrange her designing. Maybe she should branch out and try and make new friends. Maybe she should try and design something new for the bakery's specials every Sunday. Instead of staying cooped up in her room, maybe she should go out more. Enjoy the colors. (If only there were more.)_

_Her dreams were the only thing keeping her company. Maybe she should stop daydreaming and start making real friends; hang out with them at the new café that opened up around the corner or go ice skating and dancing, hot cocoa and chilly laughs for company._

_Or maybe she should actually listen to her alarm for once and wake up._

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng awoke with a gasp, arms twitching and legs frantically moving to find a cold space. Oh, how she hated how her apartment didn't have regular air conditioning. She rubbed at her bleary eyes and tried to grope for her glasses, tying her hair up in a messy bun before making her way to the bathroom to officially start her day. She grabbed her phone, plugged it into the charger and put on some Jagged Stone tunes before grabbing her toothbrush and jamming while brushing her teeth. She washed her face and put on a face mask so she could do her hair and then her makeup. Her mood often changed, affecting how she dressed and acted for the day. Feeling like today was a good day, she dressed up a little different than normal and left her hair down, peeling the face mask off before going through her normal makeup routine. 

She'd worn a pink crop top she'd made herself, the cotton making her skin feel soft and not at all itchy like other clothes she'd bought at the mall. Her midriff was showing as she also wore a black denim skirt, a belt keeping it nice and snug against her hips. She'd grown over the summer, vacation making her more tan and lean as she helped her father carry things from the van to the hotel and her mother bake in their small kitchen even as she reminded them that there was room service and they didn't have to do so much work. Her purse was slung over one shoulder and rested nicely against her right hip as she applied mascara, eyeliner and lipgloss before finishing off with a healthy blush and highlighter. She didn't like to do much, knowing that someway or another, her makeup would find a way to become damaged or she'd probably fall asleep in the middle of class with her hand against her face and she'd have to fix it all over again.

Her face all done and her bag ready for school, she walked out of the bathroom with a much more genuine smile and grabbed her phone. Two missed calls from her mother, one from her father and a couple missed texts from her best friend, Adrien. She smiled as she called her parents back, put them on speaker and made her way to the kitchen to make herself a light breakfast. (It being the most important meal of the day and all.) They talked about how the bakery was doing and how she was adjusting to her new apartment and how life was treating her (they hadn't talked since last month, a lot of things were changing and evolving). The call ended a few minutes later and her breakfast was ready as she sat down and got to work polishing the meal off and responding to Adrien's texts.

**Cat Boy: Should I come pick you up again or did you actually wake up?**

**Cat Boy: I'm guessing it was the second, so I'm on my way. Don't get too mad if I walk in on your raccoon face.**

**Marinette: shut up and wait outside. i'm almost done w/my breakfast and i'll meet you there.**

**Cat Boy: Wow, I must be stuck in alternate universe. Marinette Dupain-Cheng getting up on time for once? This must be a dream.**

**Marinette: no cuddles for a week if you don't shut your mouth right this min.**

**Cat Boy: :'( Shutting up now. Don't need to be so malicious.**

**Marinette: ;)**

She grinned and grabbed her pink backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she pulled on her grey converse and headed outside. She saw Adrien heading towards her from her left, so she walked towards him and smirked as she looped her arm through his waiting elbow. "How was your morning? Nastalie bother you again?" 

Adrien snorted and covered his mouth before responding, "furtunately, no. She had a meeting with my dad and they left before I woke up." 

Marinette smiled genuinely. "That's good. Maybe after school we can hang out and play UMS III. I still need to get you back for beating my ass last week."

Adrien smirked back at her, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. "Don't bet on it. I've been practicing, I bet my new moves will throw your butt off."

Marinette shrugged nonchalantly as they neared the school. "Maybe. Maybe not."

* * *

The day dragged on as they sat through their classes, distracted because they basically knew the material already. Thanks to Adrien's previous homeschooling, physics was a breeze for Marinette, granting her a solid 18 in the class. (No one was perfect anyway). 

As lunch neared, Marinette grew more anxious by the second, seeing as she had responsibilities at home that required her utmost attention. She needed to bake at least two dozen cookies for an event her parents' were commissioned for and she needed to get at least a quarter of her unpacking done so she felt like she had accomplished something. 

Remembering her dream companion's advice, Marinette soothed herself and plastered a genuine, confident smile on her face as the bell rang. Surely she'd be able to get it all done on time. She was the queen of multi-tasking after all. 

Before Adrien could get out a word, she gave him a rushed wave and almost tripped on her way out the door as she raced back to her apartment; she was lucky she lived about six minutes away from the school, otherwise she'd be massively late when she went back. She unlocked her door and threw her backpack onto a nearby chair as she stalked to the kitchen, throwing on her apron and tying up her hair in a messy bun before getting to work. 

The ingredients were easy to find and the cookies were placed in the oven before too long, leaving her just enough time to start unpacking her belongings that she hadn't gotten to. She'd just moved into her new apartment the week before, and already her schedule was too hectic; she hadn't gotten enough time to spare for unpacking and her house was beginning to look like a rat's nest. Or maybe an ant farm. 

While the cookies baked, Marinette unpacked box after box, storing her belongings in their natural spot while simultaneously cleaning what needed to be fixed so she didn't have to worry when she came back from school. 

The oven let out a loud "ding" and Marinette sighed as she finished the last of her cleaning and unboxing before sauntering over to the machine and pulling out the tray. She grinned as the cookies had turned out as perfect as she'd imagined; she put them in the freezer to cool and glanced at the clock to see that she had just ten more minutes before having to go back. She sighed as she realized that she didn't have enough time to take the the cookies out and decorate them, and promised herself she'd do it as soon as she got back. (It's not like the cookies could crumble from freezing right?)

* * *

The cookies were fine.

She grinned as she stepped into her apartment for the last time that day, resolving to not leave until those cookies were done. She finished icing them, putting a little pink heart in the center (as was her signature) and set them aside on a little platter for her parents to take with them when they dropped by. She sighed to herself as she took her apron off, put it back in the cupboard it belonged in, and sulked back to her backpack, remembering she had to finish her homework before she could truly relax. 

It didn't take her long to finish her English assignment (reading a passage of Romeo and Juliet and annotating it), and as she moved on to her physics assignment, she found herself in a steady rhythm. She decided to play some music as she got to finishing her other assignments and smiled to herself when she glanced at the clock ten minutes later, seeing that she had just enough time to watch some netflix and clean some more before going to bed.

As she settled herself down on her couch and grabbed her remote and favorite her blanket, she heard what sounded like a bug's "feet" skittering down the hallway towards her room. Thinking nothing of it (it's just one ant, she can kill it later), she leans against the back of her couch and turns the tv on, resuming Grey's Anatomy from where she left off. Nurse Frankie was just about to give birth when Marinette heard the skittering again, this time a little louder. A little annoyed and disturbed that something was ruining her relaxation time, she got up and went to the back of the couch, spotting a ladybug eating a leftover cookie crumb. 

The tension in Marinette's shoulders dissipated as her body slumped, the slouch resulting in a neck-ache. As she lifted a hand to rub the back of her neck, she remembered the first time the ladybug had dropped in on her home and how she'd gotten her very first (technically second) lifelong companion.

_The moving truck had just drove away after dropping off the last of Marinette's things as she settled herself down in her brand new kitchen and poured herself a glass of apple juice. She took a sip as she thought of how much effort it would take to bring this new house to the level of complete perfection, and groaned a little. At least she'd get the workout of a lifetime._

_She'd just finished her apple juice and was about to get started on moving the boxes to a slightly less crowded area of the apartment when she heard a soft squeaking sound and a skittering. Thinking nothing of it for the time being, she went back to the task at hand and picked up the lightest box she could find. She held it with both hands as she made her way up the tiny flight of stairs, dropping off the box labelled "clothing and shoes" next to her empty closet. She'd fully unpack it later, she mused, as she made her way back downstairs to pick up another box._

_She heard the noise again as she picked up a box labelled "toiletries", but with a shudder she dropped the box off in her adjoined bathroom, pausing to tie her hair back so no strands would get in her eyes. She made her way back downstairs and before she could get in another step, she saw the red and black ladybug perched on the kitchen table. At first, the thought of killing it with her shoe came to mind, as it did with all other bugs she'd encountered, but as she kept standing there staring at the bug, it seemed like...it was staring back. No other movements were made by Marinette or the bug as they had what looked like a staring contest, and just because she didn't want her eyes to hurt later, Marinette peeled her eyes away from the bug and onto her next target: "kitchen supplies"._

_The box didn't have far to travel as she picked it up and took the few steps to put it on one of the dining room chairs. She figured she could unpack this box now, as she had school in a couple days and she needed to have breakfast. She started by storing the bowls and plates in their respective cupboards and she slung her apron on a nearby hangar, musing to herself that she'd find somewhere better to put it later. (She seemed to love the word "later.") The glasses went away next, being placed carefully in their cupboards as she didn't want anything to drop and break on her first day. Her height didn't help her reach the cabinets, but she did her best and eventually all the cabinets and cupboards were filled. Lastly, the utensils were put away and she closed the last drawer with a sigh of relief. At least some productivity happened today._

_The skittering sound came back to her ears and she remembered the ladybug sitting on the kitchen counter. She turned, expecting to see it walking away and back to wherever it seemed to come from, but it hadn't moved much; it was perched next to her as she leaned against the kitchen counter. She smiled a soft smile, thinking of what harm a small ladybug could do to her house. Surely it would just take care of her crumbs. It seemed to like sweets, she'd noticed, as she'd grabbed a cookie from a jar intending to polish it off herself but the ladybug seemed to have the same intentions as it flew to perch on the cookie. Not wanting to eat a bug, Marinette surrendered the cookie to the ladybug (Tikki, she decided to call it, because of its smallness)._

* * *

As Marinette turned in for the night, taking off all the makeup she'd put on, and changing into comfortable sleep shorts and a tank top, she pulled the covers up against her chin and snuggled into the pillows on either side of her, her thoughts drifting toward the red-haired, blue-eyed woman that kept appearing in her dreams. The advice that came from the woman seemed to have been working, Marinette mused, as her days so far had been filled with joy and laughter instead of loneliness and despair. Chloé didn't seem to paying much attention to her, and Marinette seemed to be having more fun time with her friends, as they watched movies, drank apple juice and watched sunrises and sunsets together.

Maybe the ladybug and the woman were connected. Marinette smiled to herself at the thought. She'd always believed in the superstitious side of things, how there was always a reason for something to happen and how sometimes you were in the wrong place, right time or vice versa. Maybe the luck she'd gotten recently from the woman's advice and her presence was connected to the comforting presence of the ladybug in her new home and the luck in the air. 

Marinette drifted off to sleep dreaming of Tikki and the woman, and the stark white sky appeared, but this time with a splotch of pink. Maybe her slump had gone away.

* * *

Tikki smiled from the heavens as she watched over her charge. She'd picked the right person to bestow the powers of creation upon, and she could feel it in her bones that she wouldn't have to pick another Chosen for quite a while; possibly never. 

The red-haired, blue-eyed woman changed back into a ladybug and crawled onto Marinette's nightstand, content to just watch over her and wait for a new to rise and new challenges to overcome.


End file.
